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Congress re-establishes its supremacy in Mandya

The election of actor-turned-politician Ramya from Mandya Lok Sabha constituency is only a re-establishment of the old supremacy of the Congress in the region. Though the place has been described as a bastion of the Janata Dal(S), the Congress has won from here for several decades.

The Lok Sabha constituency has witnessed 18 elections since 1952 in which the Congress candidates, including Ms. Ramya, have won 13 elections. Interestingly, S.M. Krishna (then with Praja Socialist Party) won from the constituency in 1968.

The Congress put up an impressive show against the Janata Dal(S) candidates in seven out of eight Assembly segments in the by-elections on August 21.

Mandya Lok Sabha constituency has eight Assembly segments, seven in Mandya district and one in Mysore district. While the Janata Dal(S) represents five Assembly segments, two are represented by the Congress MLAs.

The Melkote Assembly constituency is represented by Sarvodaya Karnataka Party leader K.S. Puttannaiah.

Interestingly, though the Congress has only two MLAs in the Lok Sabha constituency, Ms. Ramya has secured 76,001 more votes than Mr. Puttaraju in seven Assembly segments. Mr. Puttaraju secured 7,671 more votes than his opponent in his home constituency Melkote.

The run-up to the polls saw various Congress leaders campaigning unitedly for Ms. Ramya.

The intemperate comments against Ms. Ramya by the Janata Dal(S) leader and former MLA M. Srinivas were among the reasons for the party’s poor performance.